Injured Porcupines Rehabilitated and Released!

Penelope the porcupine has been released!! Poor Penelope was severely injured when she was attacked by a dog in South Playa Guiones. Unfortunately, she lost her left eye during the incident and suffered from neurological problems and infection from the bite wounds. After several weeks of care inside our wildlife clinic, and a few more rehabilitating in an outdoor enclosure, Penelope was showing all the signs that she was ready to return to the forest. She fully recovered from her injuries and the loss of her eye hasn’t negatively impacted her ability to forage and climb! Yesterday, Penelope was released in the remote hills behind Nosara where there are acres of dense forest, far from humans and dogs. Everyone at Refuge for Wildlife is thrilled to give Penelope another chance at a happy life wild and free.

Back home where he belongs! Kimbo, a juvenile Mexican hairy dwarf porcupine (Sphiggurus mexicanus), was found in distress in the middle of the road in Playa Garza. He was disoriented and unable to return to the safety of the trees. We suspect that he was hit by a motorbike and became very stressed from the incident. Upon arrival at our wildlife clinic, Kimbo was given subcutaneous fluids because he was extremely dehydrated and anti-inflammatory medication. Thankfully Kimbo did not have any serious injuries or broken bones, he just needed a few days of rest and a special diet to help him gain the strength he needed to thrive in the wild. Within a few days, Kimbo was behaving normally and ready to return to the forest so we released him in the hills just behind Playa Garza where there are acres of forest. Kimbo was very eager to get back to regular life and quickly climbed into the trees and started to travel down the valley to enjoy his life far from busy roads.